Genetic and genomic aspects of hybridization in ferns

• Published in: Journal of systematics and evolution : JSE 2016-11, Vol.54 (6), p.638-655
• Main Author: Sigel, Erin M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: allopolyploidy; Ferns; fixed heterozygosity; Gene expression; genome evolution; homoploid hybrids; Hybridization; introgression; multiple origins; sterile hybrids; 基因组; 异源多倍体; 植物杂交; 生物学家; 组方; 蕨类植物; 进化机制; 遗传学
• ISSN: 1674-4918; 1759-6831
• DOI: 10.1111/jse.12226

The morphological and ecological intermediacy of hybrid taxa has long interested and challenged fern biologists, resulting in numerous systematic contributions focused on disentanglinl~ relationships within reticulate species complexes. From a genetic perspective, hybrid ferns are especially interesting because they represent the union of divergent parental genomes in unique evolutionary entities. This review summarizes advances in our knowledge of the genetic and genomic aspects of hybridization in ferns from the mid-2oth century to the present. The different organismal products of hybridization, evolutionary aspects of additive and non-additive gene expression in allopolyploids, genetic and genomic mechanisms leading to gene silencing and loss, the roles of multiple origins and introgression for imparting genetic variation to hybrid fern taxa and their progenitors, and the utility of allopolyploid ferns to investigate mechanisms of genome evolution in the homosporous ferns are discussed. Comparisons are made to other plant lineages and important future research directions are highlighted, with the goal of stimulating additional research on hybrid ferns.